AS WE ALL know that there have been lot of protests going on against recent hike in quota for Other Backward Classes (OBC) in educational institutions. The government is not at all showing any concern towards struggles and dreams of the students, who will suffer due to the increased number of reserved seats in educational institutions. This new policy of government will prove to be a major roadblock in the development of the nation and creation of a caste free society.
About four weeks back, the Students Union (SU) of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) (including under-graduates and interns) started taking out peaceful demonstrations against the government. The main demand of the students was to meet the Human Resource and Development minister Arjun Singh and express their concern regarding the recent hike. But, the situation got worsened, when the police beat up the students participating in various protest rallies. The police used water canons, lathis and tear gas shells on the students. Among the students who were beaten up were girls and interns.
The constant protests and efforts of the students enabled them to meet Singh. But the meeting produced no results. Singh, however, promised the student representatives that before sending the bill to the cabinet, the SU would be informed. The students continued to boycott their classes. Other medical colleges of Delhi also joined the protests. Resident doctors of the AIIMS, however, did not actively participated, but wore black badges and attended few rallies in support of the protests.
12 May saw the beginning of a new chapter in the book of the students’ protests against quota. The medical students, who were participating in a rally, were brutally assaulted by the Delhi Police members. The injured students were brought to the AIIMS with injuries such as fractured hand bone, head injuries and blunt trauma abdomen with intra-abdominal bleed. More than 300 students were manhandled, including girls, in the buses. The students were even taken to police stations. At around 3 in the afternoon, the Resident Doctors Association (RDA) of the AIIMS announced an indefinite strike. All junior residents (academic and non-academic) and senior resident doctors started boycotting their classes as well as hospitals. A protest rally was organised on that day.
In Mumbai on 13 May the medical students were beaten up badly like some animals. The students who witnessed those incidents remember how brutally the police officials treated the teenaged medical students. The students were shocked on seeing the atrocious behaviour of these policemen because they are those police officials who go to some hospitals and ask for preferential treatment for their families and relatives. This incident triggered the suppressed fire in each and every individual.
On 14 May, as an answer to the atrocities done by the state police, the students at the AIIMS announced an indefinite hunger strike. The medical students from other Delhi medical colleges also joined the hunger strike. The students in other state medical colleges also started protesting. Even the students from other fields such as commerce joined the strike.
The hunger strike by the student continues even after a week. Initially about 130 medical students and resident doctors went on the hunger strike. The students have been sitting under the hot Sun since 14 May only on water. The students have defied all the physiological limits and have overcome the human body limits. The hunger, strong winds, rain, lathis of the policemen, water canons and tear gas shells have not been able to break the unity of the students.
After 8 days, the numbers have dwindled but the real spirit has not yet died. Currently about 25 students are sitting on the hunger strike. Rest have been shifted to the emergency when their condition deteriorated. There are volunteers who work day and night to check the blood sugar levels of the students at regular intervals. Those with low sugar levels are stopped from continuing. The spirit is so high that the list of replacement seems endless. There are about 10 times the numbers of students on hunger strike waiting for their chance to come.
The worst aspect of the hunger strike is that it is more than just hypoglycaemia, which can trouble the students. Hot sun, dehydration, sodium and potassium loss and cramps play a role of a barrier for these determined students. Nevertheless, nothing seems to break their will power. The state now is that these students have become stronger. A sense of fearlessness has come in them. Ready to face any thing, ready to do any thing.
Even patients and their attendees have offered their complete support towards the cause. An attendee said, ‘My father is admitted in NS department and is fighting for his life and death, but I declare that I have no objection with your strike. I support your movement and the cause for which you are fighting. Our country required type of action.’
The students view the hunger strike and these protests as a step towards revolution in the country. Their motive is to rewrite the Indian constitution, which does not leave the deserving and meritorious candidates behind. They want a society free from caste-based discriminations.
[Dr Kumar is a junior resident doctor in the Department of Medicine at the AIIMS. He participated in the hunger strike on the first day of the strike.]
